Note the opening paragraph - "was a sincere and balanced piece from a personal standpoint"
Never thought our rebel who protested in parliament and was charged and convicted in court suddenly wants to cosy up to SPH and the establishment. Reminded me of Koh Buck Song late of SPH who used to start off his articles supposedly critical comment on govt issues with consoling and soothing opening paragraphs as an insuring hedge. It did payoff for him as he became a consultant and PAP General Elections Media Strategist.
Looks like someone is applying for tenure in a certain Statutory Board.
Written by Ng E-Jay
09 Aug 2009
Mr Kor Kian Beng’s (ST political correspondent) national day eve missive entitled “Look at S’pore’s bright side, not dark spots“, was a sincere and balanced piece written from a personal standpoint.
But it also left me with the conviction that it is time to call upon Singaporeans to go beyond being content with the apple-pie and motherhood sentiments expressed in his column and start asking the hard questions about Singapore and our Government.
Mr Kor confessed that there have been times when he was not altogether proud to be a Singaporean, and even entertained the thought of migrating someday, but his feelings changed when he realized that the “grass was not always greener elsewhere“.
Citing the problems faced by other countries like the long-running political unrest in Thailand, and the fact that not many other countries welcome foreigners as openly as Singapore does, Mr Kor argues that we should try and look at the bright side of Singapore even though there are areas in which Singapore can improve.
This is where my own beliefs and convictions depart markedly from Mr Kor’s.
For me, I have always been proud to be a Singaporean, no matter how critical I was of the Government or the way our country is run, because I have never been taken in by the propaganda that the PAP, the Government, and Singapore are one and the same.
Furthermore, I have chosen to anchor myself permanently here not because I have divested myself of the illusion that the grass is greener on the other side, but because this is where my friends and family are, and I would not want to be anywhere else no matter how good the other place may be.
Like Mr Kor, I can also cite a thousand problems neighbouring countries face, and I can also agree that Singapore has done well in some areas like having a good education system and a clean living environment.
But that does not mean that we trivialize the problems that our country faces.
For one, our political system is deeply flawed, something Mr Kor obviously realizes as well but chooses to ignore in favour of being content. We do not have free or fair elections, nor do we have an independent media. We have little or no separation of powers between the Executive, the legislature and the judiciary. We have a Government that blatantly and willfully subverts the constitutional rights of citizens to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. Lack of transparency and accountability, particularly in the way our national savings are invested and managed, is also of grave concern.
It is true that economically and in terms of infrastructure, we are well ahead of our neighbours. However, our income gap remains wide and could possibly widen even further in the years ahead because the wealth created by our nation is concentrated in the hands of a few and is not effectively distributed to the rest of society by enlightened socialist policies that manage the extremes that free market capitalism engenders.
In terms of providing a comprehensive social safety net for citizens that have fallen through the cracks, keeping a lid on the escalating cost of living so that working class Singaporeans are not ravaged by inflation, and providing a dignified retirement for our elderly who have toiled tirelessly to build our nation, the PAP has failed miserably.
These are all issues that affect both the pocketbooks as well as the dignity of Singaporeans, and which we should not shovel under the carpet just because we happen to live in an imperfect world.
In the beginning of his article, Mr Kor mentioned that his heart swelled with pride when he realized he was training hard in National Service to defend his nation.
Today, Singapore citizens have to be sure what exactly is it they are defending. We have to know that we are defending a place that we can call our home, and not some hotel that has been sold out to foreigners in the name of economic growth. A beautiful skyline with a glorious sunset is not enough for us to lay down life and limb. We need to know that we are defending a nation that places Singaporeans first.
Mr Kor says that it is always easy to criticise, but it takes more to be content. My stand is that this is no time to be content, but time to stand up and speak out on the change that Singapore badly needs.
Never thought our rebel who protested in parliament and was charged and convicted in court suddenly wants to cosy up to SPH and the establishment. Reminded me of Koh Buck Song late of SPH who used to start off his articles supposedly critical comment on govt issues with consoling and soothing opening paragraphs as an insuring hedge. It did payoff for him as he became a consultant and PAP General Elections Media Strategist.
Looks like someone is applying for tenure in a certain Statutory Board.
Written by Ng E-Jay
09 Aug 2009
Mr Kor Kian Beng’s (ST political correspondent) national day eve missive entitled “Look at S’pore’s bright side, not dark spots“, was a sincere and balanced piece written from a personal standpoint.
But it also left me with the conviction that it is time to call upon Singaporeans to go beyond being content with the apple-pie and motherhood sentiments expressed in his column and start asking the hard questions about Singapore and our Government.
Mr Kor confessed that there have been times when he was not altogether proud to be a Singaporean, and even entertained the thought of migrating someday, but his feelings changed when he realized that the “grass was not always greener elsewhere“.
Citing the problems faced by other countries like the long-running political unrest in Thailand, and the fact that not many other countries welcome foreigners as openly as Singapore does, Mr Kor argues that we should try and look at the bright side of Singapore even though there are areas in which Singapore can improve.
This is where my own beliefs and convictions depart markedly from Mr Kor’s.
For me, I have always been proud to be a Singaporean, no matter how critical I was of the Government or the way our country is run, because I have never been taken in by the propaganda that the PAP, the Government, and Singapore are one and the same.
Furthermore, I have chosen to anchor myself permanently here not because I have divested myself of the illusion that the grass is greener on the other side, but because this is where my friends and family are, and I would not want to be anywhere else no matter how good the other place may be.
Like Mr Kor, I can also cite a thousand problems neighbouring countries face, and I can also agree that Singapore has done well in some areas like having a good education system and a clean living environment.
But that does not mean that we trivialize the problems that our country faces.
For one, our political system is deeply flawed, something Mr Kor obviously realizes as well but chooses to ignore in favour of being content. We do not have free or fair elections, nor do we have an independent media. We have little or no separation of powers between the Executive, the legislature and the judiciary. We have a Government that blatantly and willfully subverts the constitutional rights of citizens to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. Lack of transparency and accountability, particularly in the way our national savings are invested and managed, is also of grave concern.
It is true that economically and in terms of infrastructure, we are well ahead of our neighbours. However, our income gap remains wide and could possibly widen even further in the years ahead because the wealth created by our nation is concentrated in the hands of a few and is not effectively distributed to the rest of society by enlightened socialist policies that manage the extremes that free market capitalism engenders.
In terms of providing a comprehensive social safety net for citizens that have fallen through the cracks, keeping a lid on the escalating cost of living so that working class Singaporeans are not ravaged by inflation, and providing a dignified retirement for our elderly who have toiled tirelessly to build our nation, the PAP has failed miserably.
These are all issues that affect both the pocketbooks as well as the dignity of Singaporeans, and which we should not shovel under the carpet just because we happen to live in an imperfect world.
In the beginning of his article, Mr Kor mentioned that his heart swelled with pride when he realized he was training hard in National Service to defend his nation.
Today, Singapore citizens have to be sure what exactly is it they are defending. We have to know that we are defending a place that we can call our home, and not some hotel that has been sold out to foreigners in the name of economic growth. A beautiful skyline with a glorious sunset is not enough for us to lay down life and limb. We need to know that we are defending a nation that places Singaporeans first.
Mr Kor says that it is always easy to criticise, but it takes more to be content. My stand is that this is no time to be content, but time to stand up and speak out on the change that Singapore badly needs.
